How to find your artistic niche

If you’re anything like me, you’ve dabbled in many different art forms, and if you have managed to find just one…. just one…. that does it for you, you may well have tried so many different ways of working with a particular medium, various designs and a wealth of concepts.

Ok, now here’s where we get serious. Have you ever sat down and really wondered how to find your artistic niche? Well… having spoken to a few experts, who really do know their stuff and have done very well in the arts industry, win awards, are renowned for their excellence, have won contracts for major works, exhibited in super-high-class galleries, one thing that seems to come up all the time is – stick to one thing.

Now, that can be hard huh? I know. I’ve been there, over and over and over. I’m one who will always want to experiment with art and crafts, to explore, to discover new ways of doing things, to see how a paintbrush feels, to see what a particular design will do to a pot, to play with glue and paper and see what happens. But…. what is that really stands out amongst all those discoveries? For me, it’s one standard thing…. a Japanese influence. For years it’s come out in my clothing choices, my arts and crafts, home decor and so much more. As much as I’ve always known this, it’s taken me until now to recognise that this is really where I want to be and what designs I want to work with. It’s the one style that appeals the most, the one that pushes all the buttons and just keeps coming up, over and over and over again. For me to recognise this required me taking an expert around my home and showing her my work and for her to ask me what it was that really jumped out for me. She also asked me why I wasn’t following that inclination, that urge, that passion? It was unique and needed to be shared! All the right things you want to hear huh?

So, how to find your artistic niche? Do the same thing… that is, sit down and really think about what it is that seems to show up again and again in your work or choice of designs, whether in your art works or in your preferences generally. What is it that appeals to you and why does it appeal? What is it about that medium, or design, or colour scheme or method that makes you want to go back to it time and time again or scan the internet looking for any blogs you can subscribe to?

That’s one way to find your artistic niche anyway. It works for me – it could well work for you too and I encourage you wholeheartedly to give it a whirl.